Essai d’archéologie expérimentale pour la production de perles à perforation double aurignaciennes

The small double perforated ivory beads are an important category of finds in the southwestern Germany during the Aurignacian. Thanks to his long experience in working with prehistoric lithic tools, the author tried to produce experimentally these tiny jewels being as close as possible to the archaeological pieces.     

Les objets en ivoire du Jura souabe

In the region of the Swabian Jura, four caves, Hohle Fels and Geißenklösterle in the Ach Valley, and Vogelherd and Hohlenstein-Stadel in the Lone Valley, have particularly rich Aurignacian layers. Beside hundreds of ivory tools, they delivered dozens of mobile figurative artworks and several musical instruments made from bone and ivory. They are among the oldest examples of art and music worldwide. In this paper, we present a summarized and updated version of the so far published figurines and recent results concerning art objects and symbolic markings on ivory artefacts from old and recent excavations.     

Biodegradation of ivory (natural apatite): possible involvement of fungal activity in biodeterioration of the Lewis Chessmen

Fungal biodeterioration of ivory was investigated with in vitro inoculation of samples obtained from boar and walrus tusks with the fungi Aspergillus niger and Serpula himantioides, species of known geoactive abilities. A combination of light and scanning electron microscopy together with associated analytical techniques was used to characterize fungal interactions with the ivory, including changes in ivory composition, dissolution and tunnelling, and the formation of new biominerals. The research was aimed at providing further understanding of the potential roles of fungi in the colonization and deterioration of ivory in terrestrial environments, but also contributes to our knowledge regarding the possible origins of the surface damage observed on early medieval sculptures made largely from walrus tusks, referred to as ‘the Lewis hoard of gaming pieces’, that were presumably produced for playing chess. The experiments have shown that the possibility of damage to ivory being caused by fungi is realistic. Scanning electron microscopy revealed penetration of fungal hyphae within cracks in the walrus tusk that showed also widespread tunnelling by fungal hyphae as well as ‘fungal footprints’ where the surface was etched as a consequence of mycelial colonization. Similar phenomena were observed with boar tusk ivory, while production of metabolites could lead to complete dissolution of the sample. Colonization of ivory and/or exposure to fungal activity lead to extensive secondary biomineral formation, and this was identified as calcium oxalate, mainly as the monohydrate, whewellite.     

Les statuettes féminines en ivoire des faciès gravettiens et post-gravettiens en Europe centrale et orientale : modes de fabrication et de représentation

During the Upper Palaeolithic, especially in Gravettian times, the hunter-gatherer societies had an economy closely linked with the exploitation of two local species in Eastern Europe: reindeer and woolly mammoth. The ivory objects are rich archives about their ways of life and their collective imagination, as in particular the ivory female statuettes show. These figurines, also called “Venus”, are one of the cultural characteristics of the Gravettian sites. To date, although they are more numerous in Eastern Europe, they were discovered, in a variable number, also in site of Central and Western Europe; today, we have no clue that this cultural tradition crossed the Pyrenees. The corpus of pieces from the Gravettian sites of the Russian Plain (dated between 25,000 and 21,000 B.P.) is the more informative about technological know-how of the Gravettian craftsmen. He consists in the leading material of this paper, completed with some data about Epigravettian and Magdalenian statuettes. Whereas the Gravettian figurines show figurative female representations, those of the later cultural facies are more stylized. In a technological point of view, there is a close link between the choice of blanks within the mammoth tusk and the morphology of the statuettes, whatever the period of time considered.     

王府井东方广场遗址骨制品研究

王府井东方广场遗址不仅出土了丰富的石制品,而且也含有较为丰富的骨制品。骨制品可分为骨核、人工骨块、骨片、骨屑和骨器五大类;骨片约占骨制品总数一半;骨器包括刮削器、尖头器、雕刻器和骨铲四类。观察发现：79件骨制品和骨骼可以拼合成33组,45件上有古人类砍砸、切割或刻划的痕迹。丰富的骨制品进一步反映了王府井古人类文化的进步性;同华北地区类似制品比较,它们之间存在着密切的渊源关系。遗物分布特征表明,东方广场遗址是一处古人类的临时居住地。出土的石器、骨器遗物以及大量的动物骨骼化石表明,王府井古人类不仅能够制作石器与骨器用来宰杀与支解猎物,而且具有用火、控火进行烹饪的能力。     

四川汉源富林遗址石制品再研究

富林遗址出土的细小石器在20世纪发现之初便引起了广泛关注,是南方小型石制品组合的典型代表且具有特殊的研究价值。本文结合已有报告对石制品进行再研究,认为富林遗址石器工业整体仍以石核-石片技术为主导,包含小型石片产品和似石叶产品,未见细石叶技术相关产品。在石器修理与使用方面,除较为常见的刃部正向修理之外,对石片未加工刃缘的直接使用也较为突出;并观察到对装柄部位修理的例子,指示了复合工具的使用。富林遗址的石制品技术反映的是青藏高原边缘地带人群在更新世末-全新世初对气候环境、原料条件及人口规模变化作出的适应。在更新世末-全新世中期,中国南方的小型石制品组合远不止富林遗址这一例,各地人群为适应生态环境而发展出了多样的石制品组合,形成了较为多元化的格局。     

THE COLLECTION OF FOUND IVORY IN MURCHISON FALLS NATIONAL PARK, UGANDA

The paper concerns the circumstances surrounding the collection of ivory from dead elephants, with particular reference to Murchison Falls National Park. The characteristics of the interval between death and complete disintegration of an elephant are described. These, combined with observations of known age skeletons, comprised the criteria used in classifying skeletons found from the air into three relative age classes. Average annual mortality is estimated for the population north of the Nile (MFPN) at 147 animals yielding 1945 kg of ivory, and for that south of the Nile (MFPS) at 474 animals yielding 7497 kg ivory. Park-found ivory records are analyzed for the 11 y 1959–69. The expected age distribution of deaths is compared with the observed. For MFPN a bias in favour of large (male) tusks is present, explicable by the concentration of ranger search effort in areas of known high male density. For MFPS a bias towards small tusks is thought to be caused by elephants wounded outside the park dying inside it. The National Park recovers an average of 27.6 % of its available ivory per annum, with large annual fluctuations probably correlated with the incidence of wounding outside the park. High losses to poachers are evident. An aerial search for ivory showed a tendency for elephants to die near watercourses. A finding rate of one carcass every 4.3 km of watercourse was obtained. As only 5 % of carcasses still had tusks the aerial searching was prematurely terminated. The results indicated a finding efficiency of 26.4% of the available current year carcasses. Comparative costing suggests that ground searching would be a more efficient method of finding ivory than aerial searching. The high value of the available ivory in Murchison and other areas justifies intensive searching. The low collection rates prevailing in East Africa are largely attributable to the absence of appropriate search efforts.     

Acquérir l’ivoire vrai et lui donner forme : contraintes pratiques et techniques

Dealing with objects made on osseous materials as mammoth ivory involves questions about the availability of this raw material within the territories occupied by palaeolithic societies. In the case of green ivory procurement, this availability is directly linked with the geographical distribution of mammoth populations. The ways of procurement of this raw material seem to be guided also by some cultural traditions. The authors propose a reflexion about these zooarchaeological issues and the first technical gestures, which come in the initial stages of any exploitation of true ivory.     

The vegetable ivory industry: Surviving and doing well in Ecuador

Buttons made of vegetable ivory were once in great demand in industrial parts of the world. Vegetable ivory is the hard white seed endosperm from palms of the genusPhytelephas (Arecaceae). After World War II, ivory nuts were largely replaced by plastics. Recently the authors visited a factory on the coast of Ecuador that was founded in 1926 and still produces buttons of vegetable ivory on a large scale. Eighty employees produce about 5000 lb of buttons a month; these are exported to Japan, West Germany, and Italy. The production is described step by step and the future of vegetable ivory is discussed briefly.     

Qu’est-ce que l’Ivoire ?

What is ivory? Though the term “ivory” has been generally applied to animal dental materials of commercial value, many specialists reserve the term “true ivory” for the enlarged incisors of elephants and extinct proboscideans. Compared even to the check teeth of the same species, these specialized incisors have chemical and structural properties that are unique, and which have substantial implications for the identification, analysis and interpretation of archaeological artifacts made of true ivory. Below, we present a definition of “true ivory” and an overview of its chemical and structural characteristics and the diagnostic features that can be used in its identification.     

Isolation of DNA from small amounts of elephant ivory

This protocol describes a method for the extraction of DNA from elephant ivory. These techniques are being used to assign geographic origin to poached ivory by comparing the ivory genotype to a geographic-based gene frequency map, developed separately. The method has three components: ivory pulverization, decalcification and DNA extraction. Pulverization occurs in a freezer mill while the sample is deep frozen in liquid nitrogen, preventing degradation of DNA during the process. Decalcification involves repeated agitation of the sample in 0.5 M ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid over a 4-d period. Extraction follows a modified Qiagen protocol for the extraction of DNA from animal tissue. This method can be used on all forms of ivory. However, DNA recovery is highest when the outermost layer of the tusk, the cementum, is used. When applied to extract DNA from 11 samples, in duplicate, the entire protocol can be completed in 6 d, although much of this time consists of pause points that do not require effort. The protocol provides 0.8 +/- 0.11 ng microl(-1) (mean +/- s.e., n = 48) of DNA per sample.     

关于周口店第15地点石器类型和加工技术的研究

在周口店第 15地点经过加工的石器中 ,刮削器占近 93%。其它石器类型包括砍砸器、尖刃器、石锥、凹缺器、雕刻器和薄刃斧。石器由锤击加工。绝大多数标本向一面加工。石片石器多为正向加工。大多数石器个体很小 ,形态不规则 ,修疤呈鳞状 ,深浅、大小不一。少数标本的修疤浅平、规则而平行。统计分析显示在各类器型之间存在着明显的大小与加工上的区别。单边刃刮削器的各亚型之间在大小、加工长度和深度以及刃角和刃形诸方面不存在明显的差异 ,说明这些刮削器在刃口形态 (直、凸与凹 )方面的的变异主要取决于毛坯的原始形态 ,而非代表类型与功能的不同。变量相关分析揭示石器的大小与加工程度和原坯的大小与形态紧密相关。     

周口店第15地点石器原料开发方略与经济形态研究

本文是对周口店第 15地点石器文化系列研究的第 3部分。对石制品原料种类和各种原料的用途、利用率统计及其分布、可用量和质量分析揭示该地点的原料资源具有高含量和低质量的特点 ,对文化面貌和石器技术的发挥有着重要的制约作用。采用加工长度指数和加工深度指数等手段计算石料的消耗率的结果表明该地点石器在从毛坯到成型工具转换的过程中材料的消耗很少 ,这与原料条件息息相关。该文将若干理论和实验模式引入研究之中 ,以期对石器工业特点的成因和原料利用的经济形态、人类适应生存方式做出合理的诠释。     

An assessment of the maximum sustainable yield of ivory from African elephant populations.

A general, logistic population model is used to explore the dynamics of harvested elephant populations. The model includes two features peculiar to elephant populations and the harvesting of ivory. First, because of the shape of the growth curve of tusks with age, the conversion factor that relates the number of elephants killed to the ivory yield in weight is not constant, but a function of the population size. Second, tusks from animals that die from natural causes can be retrieved and included in the total yield of ivory. The implications of the relationship between tusk size and age of an animal on the maximum sustainable yield in terms of ivory tonnage and in terms of the number of tusks are explored. The nonequilibrium implications of the tusk growth curve on the population dynamics under different harvesting strategies are also investigated. Results indicate that the maximum sustainable yield is achieved at very low harvest rates with population levels close to the pristine equilibrium. When tusks from animals that die of natural causes are included in the harvest, the maximum yield may, depending on the mortality and recruitment parameters, occur when there is no direct harvest.     

Dissecting the Illegal Ivory Trade: An Analysis of Ivory Seizures Data

Reliable evidence of trends in the illegal ivory trade is important for informing decision making for elephants but it is difficult to obtain due to the covert nature of the trade. The Elephant Trade Information System, a global database of reported seizures of illegal ivory, holds the only extensive information on illicit trade available. However inherent biases in seizure data make it difficult to infer trends; countries differ in their ability to make and report seizures and these differences cannot be directly measured. We developed a new modelling framework to provide quantitative evidence on trends in the illegal ivory trade from seizures data. The framework used Bayesian hierarchical latent variable models to reduce bias in seizures data by identifying proxy variables that describe the variability in seizure and reporting rates between countries and over time. Models produced bias-adjusted smoothed estimates of relative trends in illegal ivory activity for raw and worked ivory in three weight classes. Activity is represented by two indicators describing the number of illegal ivory transactions – Transactions Index – and the total weight of illegal ivory transactions – Weights Index – at global, regional or national levels. Globally, activity was found to be rapidly increasing and at its highest level for 16 years, more than doubling from 2007 to 2011 and tripling from 1998 to 2011. Over 70% of the Transactions Index is from shipments of worked ivory weighing less than 10 kg and the rapid increase since 2007 is mainly due to increased consumption in China. Over 70% of the Weights Index is from shipments of raw ivory weighing at least 100 kg mainly moving from Central and East Africa to Southeast and East Asia. The results tie together recent findings on trends in poaching rates, declining populations and consumption and provide detailed evidence to inform international decision making on elephants.     

High connectivity in a long-lived high-Arctic seabird,the ivory gull <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pagophila eburnea</Emphasis>

Species may cope with rapid habitat changes by distribution shifts or adaptation to new conditions. A common feature of these responses is that they depend on how the process of dispersal connects populations, both demographically and genetically. We analyzed the genetic structure of a near-threatened high-Arctic seabird, the ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea) in order to infer the connectivity among gull colonies. We analyzed 343 individuals sampled from 16 localities across the circumpolar breeding range of ivory gulls, from northern Russia to the Canadian Arctic. To explore the roles of natal and breeding dispersal, we developed a population genetic model to relate dispersal behavior to the observed genetic structure of worldwide ivory gull populations. Our key finding is the striking genetic homogeneity of ivory gulls across their entire distribution range. The lack of population genetic structure found among colonies, in tandem with independent evidence of movement among colonies, suggests that ongoing effective dispersal is occurring across the Arctic Region. Our results contradict the dispersal patterns generally observed in seabirds where species movement capabilities are often not indicative of dispersal patterns. Model predictions show how natal and breeding dispersal may combine to shape the genetic homogeneity among ivory gull colonies separated by up to 2800 km. Although field data will be key to determine the role of dispersal for the demography of local colonies and refine the respective impacts of natal versus breeding dispersal, conservation planning needs to consider ivory gulls as a genetically homogeneous, Arctic-wide metapopulation effectively connected through dispersal.     

河南淅川坑南遗址调查发现的石制品

河南淅川坑南遗址位于丹江口库区,丹江口库区是近年来旧石器考古发掘和研究的重点地区。2016年对坑南遗址发掘前,在周边调查发现旧石器时代石制品209件,石制品类型包括石核、石片、石叶和石器等。剥片方法有锤击法和砸击法。石器毛坯类型多为片状,少量为块状、砾石。石器修理方式以正向为主,其次为反向和复向。初步判断其时代最早能到旧石器时代中期。新发现对于探讨晚更新世南北旧石器过渡地带的特点,具有重要意义。     

Les statuettes en ivoire gravettiennes d’Europe occidentale

The results of an archeozoological and taphonomical analysis of mammoth ivory statuettes from gravettian levels of the grotte du Pape at Brassempouy (Landes) are presented in this article.